Alright, factions...
[NOTE: I am NOT trying to take away the fun of those having a ball with competitive campaigning for factions before any official word is made, I'm just trying to clarify the purpose of Factions in Destiny's main plot and main gameplay focus. So don't hate plz]
The common idea with factions is that they're made to go against eachother. These factions are supposed to be fighting for victory over one common obstacle. Everything about Destiny so far HAS NOT pointed in the direction of faction-based competition. The faction system in Destiny is simply built to suit different people's play-styles, moral preference and look/feel. The whole point of the game is that ALL of us are working together to re-establish humanity as the once thriving race it used to be in the solar system.
This has been misconstrued by many to simply mean: "Which party you wann run with?!"
It's not about parties, it's not about competition (for the most part at least), it's about what you want to support. You guys should keep in mind that this is built as a co-operative video game and not exactly meant to be a solo MMO. MMO's with conflicting factions usually tend to be very PvP or solo play based. Destiny is the opposite, which is why a lot of us like it.
Also, yes, it is quite early to start aligning yourself to a faction of which you know nothing about, but quite honestly, you can tell a good chunk about the New Monarchy faction just by it's name. You can also tell a lot about the Dead Orbit faction, and maybe even the 7 Seraphs... Though I can tell you right now, I bet that there isn't much in the way of group-on-group battling going on. I don't doubt there may be some vendettas from one group to another simply for friendly competitive reasons, but for the most part, there's no reason for us to campaign violently against eachother.
Yeah, it'd be cool to have opposing factions and such, but that's done all the time. Why don't we have factions that work together rather than constantly fight? That's the point of Destiny.
So you guys should chill on the "WE'RE GONNA KILL DEAD ORBIT, NEW MONARCHY FTW!" rants because, A. We don't know jack about any of these groups yet except for maybe a few basic things, B. This is a community based game and we're supposed to be helping eachother out, C. Save that for the faction battles as shown in the ViDoc.

Im feeling that these Factions are actually manufactures of different weapons and vehicles in the game, alot like borderlands. Different manufactures like dead orbit or FWC will have different key things that go along with weapons E.G. Deadorbit could specialise in heavy weaponry.

WHO CARES?!?!?! The game was just announced and we have people talkin shit. They act like they know everything on a game that we have little to no information about. People, stop talkin like you know everything.

[quote]Everything about Destiny so far HAS NOT pointed in the direction of faction-based competition.[/quote]
From Game Informer:
[quote]guardians fight against one another in support of various competing factions in the City, and battles play out in contested areas across the solar system. “You are being employed by these factions,” says design lead Lars Bakken. “The factions helped and were integral to the forming of the city. They are very interested in pushing guardians out into the universe, and helping them to reestablish and take back these places.”[/quote]

First let me point out that I am new to these forums. I've been tooling around on this site for about two hours now but I may ask something that has already been mentioned.
A friend of mine mentioned to me that bungee was coming out with an FPS MMO and my first thought was 'OH MY GOD THE PVP IS GOING TO BE AWSOME!'. Now I have played several MMO's in the past but I always found that Warhammer Online had the most intense and fun multiplayer, which did include fighting for resources and strongpoints on every map, but limited it to specific areas of those maps. I found a home in the PVP guild MORTALIS and I still think fondly of playing with those people. Now this thread [u][/u]suggests[u][/u] (note the underline) that their will not be any of this due to the fact that humanity has a common goal and not enough resources to fight aliens and each other (I'm sure that if we had the resources we'd be quite comfortable doing both), and I can not disagree with that analysis. But has anyone considered that the alien races might be playable? This was my thought as to how they could create factional fighting.
The bottom line is that the only true challenge comes from other players. Without that I fear any game (and so far the games without have lived up to the following) will just be a PVE grindfest (one word). Where's the challenge of outsmarting an NPC? You just learn their pattern and its over, but a human player can adapt making fights far more interesting. I personally (an admitted PVPer) would be very dissappointed if this game did not have true factional open world fighting the story seems set up to support.
If nothing else I do hope this sparks something in the devs. After recent releases of unfinished games, I would support a late release for a game including such qualities (Assuming they are not planning that already - in which case it had better be delivered on time lol). I also believe that if they want this game to last ten years then they will need these attributes, otherwise this game will be like borderlands 2 - a fun game that I play through once and the sell back to gamestop.
On another note a friend of mine said this was for all consoles but I can find no information confirming that. Does anyone have a link for that? I still keep in touch with some of the people from MORTALIS and if this does have decent PVP they will be interested in it I am sure.

I think too many people think of factions as opposing armies. They are really on the same side with a different point of view. Political Parties are the best example of factions. I'm not talking about Dems vs GOP but the factions in them. For example the GOP has a libertarian side and a social conservative side and many more but they are more similar than different so that's why they are the same party even though there may be one or two issues that they strongly disagree with each other on. The parties themselves are also factions since they are all Americans and want to have whats best for the country (they are on the same side) but they have very different opinions on what to do.
TL;DR
Factions are on the same side

This thread made me want to pick a faction. It's pretty interesting; when this game finally comes out, are we all going to stick with our initial choices? I think that it might just build intimacy between players and the game, choosing so early. It's like growing up, thinking you'll eventually be an artist, or a firefighter, or an astronaut: when these people finally join these factions, it's going to be an amazing experience. But, yeah, I don't think anyone is sending literal death threats... Not yet. And, really, I'm sure some of the NPC's are just as passionate about their factions as people here on the forums are; a little friendly competition can breed success and mean a future for the human race. We just have to remember who the real enemy is. And I don't think many will have forgotten.

Your faction probably just has to do with the lore and look of your character storywise, and maybe involves some minor power or weapon differences in terms of the campaign. Its bigger purpose is probably to determine teams for competitive play, seperate from the main section of the game.

Well, we can't even say that much. All we got was a few seconds of "gameplay", which just showed of some aesthetic, didn't look complete and was not really too useful to draw anything. Even the press wasn't shown too much. Personally, I think people shouldn't be making too many judgements or guesses just yet as it is difficult to draw conclusions. It is interesting to see what people say, many being convinced in fact that they have solid foundations on which to base their "facts" about the game.
The video is mainly designed to act as marketing, rather than to show the game. It is Bungie building hype before the game is shown. While I like what Bungie has done in the past, and I am intrigued by the concept, they are creating excitement so the game looks better when they show it. Put simply, the video is an advert; a clever one at that.
Regardless, I believe that saying it is/is not faction based is more speculation than set fact. Give it time folks, more will be revealed.
(I don't mind excitement and theories, just in case you think I do, I just like to see a little more fact with the facts)

Here's the thing, you are correct, it is fun to competitively recruit like this.
That being said, I don't know that many people are really expecting to be hunting down other factions, except maybe in arena gameplay, but there has to be some level of competitiveness and exclusiveness to the factions, or there would be absolutely no point in having different ones to begin with.
If everyone just got along on everything, then they might as well unite into one slappy, happy superfaction.
I get what you are saying though. I don't think I am just going to leave someone to die if they aren't from a faction I like. I'm guessing there aren't too many situations where killing players or letting them die is really going to help you out in the field

[b][i]Ourselves...[/i][/b] Well, it has been stated this game is being built to be social. I have a stronger feeling that we, the community, are the one's who must overcome not just our alien threats, but ourselves. We know almost nothing about the factions and how they will shape the game, but we know everything about ourselves. We fight among each other here, in the forums, we have had tension between team mates in our past of Halo, simply because you were unable to get in a Warthog turret? How could destiny be different? Just being in a faction does not make two men friends or foes. This does not mean, however, we cannot bring peace.
[b][i]Greed...[/i][/b] If I were to place the greatest reward known to all who lived, deep within a dangerous land, with the largest and fearsome of enemies, a threat so great, no single man could ever hope of finding it... however even if we do unite to a mass and conquer this land, only one would be allowed to take the reward, would we ever obtain it? Would you be willing to go out risk yourself so someone else gets everything while you are left empty handed? do you trust the handler of the reward, whomever it may be, to use it for good or evil? Well lets take a step back from such horror, these are our everyday small-scale events, a few people want some things but it can be a challenge, so we compromise and unite to each get to our goal, but we sometimes shed our own blood and betray our covenants. At times we share the same goal, and fight each other so that we have it for ourselves. Humanly, though rare, we all come together to solve our tensions, these become our guilds, our clans, and factions. so can we overcome our violence, and work together as one? After all, if we become one, then we all win the great reward...
[b][i]What We Can't Control...[/i][/b] It was stated in the video that things will happen Bungie cannot totally control... who is to say that it is not nature they state, but us? Regardless of the story role factions will play, the factions WILL become what the social members within make it, and regardless of the engineering of game play mechanics, it WILL be as PvP as any shootout, if we so choose violence for ourselves, if we can, and hopefully we will, find a great enough peace to take the game where it is made to go.
---------------
Epilogue to my Opinion: I do understand trolls and absolutely hateful people are always here, being the rouge bandits of our universe. I understand we have our people devoted to working together, and bringing us into a whole, and as social as destiny will become, it is not a new game being made for a decade, it is a universe, and experience that we must cherish and protect. Together.

Kind of agree, mainly everyone on the outside are together against the common enemy, but underneath there is an arm race going on where each group is fighting for more influence on the human population.

IMO they're just the powers that hold the last city on Earth. I reckon all of them will be giving you quests/missions, but like you said, I doubt they'll actively seek to take each other out. Plus they'll be the "teams" of PvP anyway.
Regardless, seeing as Bungie wants to turn FPS on its head, who know what they can do with these factions.
EDIT: Also seeing as the quests look to be in book (chapter) form, maybe you have a book for each faction aswell as a main story? :P

Actually, Your MOM, you yourself are making quite the assumption that these factions will never share tension. None of us know the game's full storyline, and while it is true that all humans are working toward a common goal, tension within humanity is natural and generally inevitable.
Also, tension between seemingly amicable characters usually heightens the entertainment of a story. For example, some of the best aspects of The Avengers movie was the tension and bickering between the superheroes, despite working together for a common goal.
Such tension can elevate the plot and make the game more interesting, so never discount the possibility, especially when we know so little about the game.

Fact:
No one will understand factions until they release the information.
I honestly think its cool, the community is developing, merging, changing and the game has only been "officially announced". Its like a virus and I think that is what happens in a community or even in a society.
And you need opposing factions because it makes the game more interesting and unique. It also is apart of a living, breathing game. You will find some people may share common goals and some people may not.
I suggest you let this play out without getting frustrated.

P.S. [b][i][u]GUYS[/u][/i][/b], I understand that factions DETAILS have not been confirmed or anything. I understand we don't know a bit about them. But you can't tell me that you can't tell a single thing about the New Monarchy or Dead Orbit factions specifically... Just by names alone, you can somewhat do some deductive reasoning into how each group may work and who it may consist of. Think, New Monarchy may contain a patriarchal figure (not in the religious sense exactly) and will most likely be about introducing a new form of leadership amongst Humans as a whole. What we REALLY don't know is each group's use of technology, lack thereof or level of "class" each faction represents. My guess is that the New Monarchy represents a somewhat higher class considering people from the higher classes in societies tend to lead revolts or revolutions that people actually end up standing behind. That is just a common historic repetition for the most part.
My point is that even though we know nothing about them detail wise, we can pull a lot from just the names.
ALSO, just because we don't know the PURPOSE of factions, doesn't mean we don't know what they will be doing. The point of the game is that we are humans trying to make our last stand against alien forces that wish expelled from the universe. We are obviously not going to be fighting each other while aliens are fighting us. Why is that so? Look at Halo. When Humanity was infighting, nothing was really in their way as a whole. When the covenant arrived, the insurrections, the wars, they came to a screeching halt. Of course there were a few situational exceptions wayyy after the Human-Covenant war but that was implemented by 343. ALSO, we know for sure that there is a competitive mode (as I mentioned at the end of my post originally that many seemed to miss), and we know FOR A FACT that the mode is not part of the main story considering it is built as a side form of gameplay. It may be large and have a huge focus on it, but it is NOT the center of the game. That is A FACT. What the ViDoc showed was Destiny's sole purpose and main story of gameplay. NOW, I'm not saying that campaigning for factions in that mode is bad or that I don't like it or something. I'm simply talking about what factions are doing IN THE MAIN story of Destiny and that I doubt there will be infighting amongst a human struggle to dispel alien enemies.
I hope this clears things up for people so they can understand why I wrote this.
Also, I'm obviously a big advocate for fan-fiction and I totay love it, but I just think it should be done correctly and in the true sense of the main plot rather than as part of the side-mode of competitive multiplayer. Though that mode may contain a story but I'm not sure how that would work but amen to those who have an idea. So yeah, campaign to your heart's content. Just keep in mind what the purpose of Destiny's story is: to have humanity unite against a violent force.